In addition to more than 6 feet of new snow at many Utah winter resorts, it was an eventful past week at some ski and snowboard areas.
A fire at the Nordic Valley Lodge early Monday morning temporarily closed the Weber County resort. Efforts to put out the blaze were challenging due to buried hydrants, wind, freezing temperatures and smoke, according to the Weber Fire District. The cause is under investigation.
Little Cottonwood Canyon — home to Alta and Snowbird — closed last Friday morning for avalanche control and didn’t reopen until Monday. Alta and Snowbird also, for a time, were placed under interlodge, which confines patrons and employees to resort buildings and homes while avalanche work is done. In addition to heavy snow, high winds and avalanche mitigation forced some resorts to shut down operations for a day or part of a day.
But other than Nordic Valley, all resorts are now open.
Tuesday brings a break in the weather pattern with mostly sunny skies early and gradually increasing clouds. A storm is forecast for Tuesday night that will bring snow to primarily the northern Utah mountains, according to OpenSnow. Moderate snowfall amounts are expected by Thursday morning. After another break toward the end of the week, more high-elevation snowfall is anticipated this weekend.
The past seven days brought much-needed snow to resorts up and down the state, with areas in the Wasatch Mountain reporting the highest totals. Here are the seven-day totals, according to SkiUtah:
Alta — 86 inches.
Beaver Mountain — 52 inches.
Brian Head — 18 inches.
Brighton — 73 inches.
Cherry Peak — 40 inches.
Deer Valley — 66 inches.
Eagle Point — 31 inches.
Nordic Valley — 35 inches.
Park City Mountain — 73 inches.
Powder Mountain — 64 inches.
Snowbasin — 50 inches.
Snowbird — 74 inches.
Solitude — 81 inches.
Sundance — 58 inches.
Woodward — 47 inches.